Letter from the Pastor
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September 5, 2021This Wednesday St. Margaret’s School begins its 68th Academic Year. Once again I would like to thank Mrs. Maldonado, our Principal, for her great work all summer and her assistants, Mrs. Maul and Mrs. McGowan, our School Nurse Mrs. Bunis, our teachers and aides who came in early to prepare their classrooms.
Our School is thriving, we have a high enrollment this year, and in spite of last year’s challenges, our academic scores are the best in Rockland County and are even higher than the average in the entire Archdiocese of New York. We should all be proud and grateful for our school.
Recently I read a fun piece about the difference between the first days of school during the 1970’s and present day. It was a lot longer, so I had to edit it but you’ll get the idea…
Back to School in the 70s
Take the kids shopping at Sears for back to school clothes the last week of August. Get everyone a new pair of corduroys and a striped tee shirt. Buy the boys a pair of dungarees and the girls a pair of culottes. You are done. You have spent a total of $43.00. Now take everyone to the Woolworth's lunch counter for grilled cheese and chocolate milk.
On the night before the first day of school get the children in bed by eight, grab a composition book for each of them and a pack of pencils too. That's all they need. Remember to save some grocery bags so they can cover their textbooks with them after the first day of school.
Get up in the morning and line up all the lunchboxes on the formica counter top in your kitchen. Open up a bag of Wonder Bread and do this assembly line style. Spread yellow mustard on bread. Slap baloney on bread. Unwrap American cheese slices and put on top of baloney. Put top on the sandwich and wrap sandwich in tin foil or wax paper. Put some Planter’s Cheese Balls into a baggie and close with a twist tie. Take Twinkies out of the box. Put one in each child’s lunch box. Fill thermoses with either Kool-Aid or whole milk. Every kid gets the same exact lunch. Period. Include a red delicious apple even though you know that apple is just going to come home uneaten again, which is fine because you can keep adding the same one until it practically rots. Close the lunchboxes. You're done. Go put some Barry Manilow on the record player and celebrate that your kids are out of the house until dinnertime. Say good-bye as they grab a frosted, Dutch apple Pop-Tart on the way out the door as they walk a half-mile down the road to get to the bus stop.
Back to School Today
Mid July- your children’s annual list of school supplies that you must purchase arrives. It is three and a half pages long. It includes several cleaning products and also requests a Costco-sized package of toilet paper. Begin frantic online search for backpacks and school bags made from all natural materials yet still "cool”. Have them monogrammed. Take kids shopping at the mall for new school clothes. Buy them each a completely new wardrobe; spend $2,387.07 on your credit card. Take children to the child psychologist to prepare them mentally for the difficult transition to a new grade, new teacher and new classroom.
Intently study the allergy list the school has sent you, food items, which cannot be sent in your child's lunch. Make notes on your phone so you can remember what not to buy when you go to Whole Foods.
Purchase school supplies for your children. Not to be confused with the 3 1/2-page list of classroom supplies you are also responsible for. They will need paper, pens, folders, notebooks, a calligraphy set, fifteen new apps for their tablets, a graphing calculator, a scalpel, an electron microscope and a centrifuge.
The night before the first day of school fill containers with organic, local strawberries intricately cut into the shapes of sea creatures. Include homemade, nut free granola made with certified gluten-free oats. Make a sandwich on vegan hemp bread out of tahini, kale and jicama. Form it into the shape of your child's favorite Disney character. Make flowers out of non-dairy cheese slices, olives and seaweed. Photograph the finished Bento Box and post it to Instagram. Write your child an encouraging note, which includes an inspirational quote. Include a sheet of stickers for good measure.
Get up at four in the morning on the first day of school. Make first day of school signs for each child to hold as you photograph them on the front step. Blow up balloons. Actually, go ahead and make a full “back to school” photo booth. Dress kids in coordinated outfits and spend 35 minutes posing and photographing them (with your phone).
Load everyone into the car to drive them to school. When they are safely in their new classrooms, return to your car to cry for the next 20 minutes. But it's okay, really. You'll be back in six hours to pick them up and drive them to Synchronized Swimming, Cello and Karate classes this afternoon.
What a difference 40 years make!